Month: June 2016

Night is when my mind starts buzzing with plans and ideas. You’ll often find me browsing through Pinterest or writing blog posts. The problem is that night is also the time when I need to rest to be able to function the next day! It’s not an uncommon problem. Most likely you too have trouble shutting off your mind for the night. But I may just have the perfect solution.

One of the reasons why we have trouble falling asleep at night is because of all the blue light we’re exposed to pre-bedtime. Yes the sun may be down, but it’s not the only source of blue light. In fact one of the largest emitters are digital screens and electronic devices.

Not only can blue light overtime be harmful to our eyes but it also messes with our circadian rhythm (i.e. sleeping patterns). When the sun is up, our minds are awake and when the sun goes down, our minds take a rest. But when we start using our devices, the blue light emitted from them fool our mind into thinking that it’s still daytime and therefore we should stay awake.

The simplest way to fix that is to simply refrain from using any electronic devices before bedtime buuut that’s not always possible. As I stated earlier, night is when I write better blog posts or come up with my greatest ideas. So I like to use a blue light-blocking filter on my digital screens. This allows me to work in the evenings without tricking my brain into thinking it’s still daytime.

My favourite program to use has been f.lux. It adjusts your screen’s light emittance depending on the sun’s pattern in your area. For example, when the sun starts to set, f.lux slowly begins to adjust your screen accordingly. By the time the sun has completely set, your screen has become a deep rosy colour. This may look strange during the day but at night it looks completely normal. But if you happen to be doing some colour editing at that time of night, it gives you the option to turn it off. F.lux also allows you to set your wake up time and lets you know how many hours of sleep you’ll get. Brilliant if you ask me! Now I can work in the evenings and fall asleep easily.

What do you think of blue-light blocking programs?

About

Hey there! It's Victoria here and welcome to my corner of the internet! It's where I share bits + pieces of my life. Thanks for stopping by!